Dominican Republic cancels meeting with Haiti amid deportation controversy

The Dominican Republic is backing out of a planned meeting with Haiti that would have addressed a Supreme Court ruling that strips citizenship from about 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent. The announcement comes just one day after CARICOM, a 15-member organization of Caribbean states, denounced the court ruling. CARICOM also declared that it would be suspending its consideration of the Dominican Republic’s bid for membership.

According to the Associated Press, Dominican immigration officials have rounded up an additional 88 people and transported them to the southern border with Haiti, bringing the total deported to 357 within the last week. The surge in deportations follows a string of violence stemming from the home invasion and murder of an elderly Dominican couple along the border in the town of Neiba. A Haitian man, accused of committing the crime, was killed by a group of Dominicans in retaliation.